Haiti debt cancellation gains momentum in Congress

Feb 5th, 2010 10:38 AM UTC
By Maryamu.Aminu

When the devastating earthquake hit Haiti 3 weeks ago, killing 150,000 people and causing immeasurable damage, the Americans, and indeed the world rallied to provide immediate relief to save lives. ONE and other partners however also quickly began to build a campaign to ensure that help for Haiti included not only short and medium term assistance, but also the ability to rebuild and recover in the long-term. That means canceling, in full, the $1 billion debt hanging over Haiti. We know from history that debt servicing undermines the ability of poor countries to invest in public health, education and the infrastructure necessary to develop their societies and economies. So ONE, Jubilee USA and other partners launched a campaign to urge U.S. and global leadership to cancel Haiti’s bi-lateral and multilateral debt. 200,000 of our members signed the petition and this is building the pressure or our leaders and momentum of our cause.

Last week ONE Champion, and congressional leader on debt issues, Representative Maxine Waters (CA), and 94 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to US Secretary of the Treasury, Timothy Geithner, urging him to instruct our representatives at the World Bank, IMF and Inter-American Development Bank to use every tool at their disposal to build consensus among the stakeholder countries to cancel Haiti’s debts to those institutions. Rep. Waters has also introduced bi-partisan legislation with 37 others members of the House to mandate the use of U.S. voice and vote at these institutions for the same purpose.

In the Senate, Senators Dodd and Lugar have introduced a bill urging the US Treasury to work multilaterally to cancel Haiti’s debt. We have a very strong chance of succeeding in making this happen. So keep urging your family and friends to sign the petition, keep calling your Representatives to cosponsor the Waters and Dodd/Lugar bills, and watch this space.

To see a full list of the signers, click “more” below:

Letter to Secretary Geithner:

Maxine Waters
Donald M. Payne
Barbara Lee
Al Green
Edolphus Towns
John Lewis
Yvette D. Clarke
Carolyn Maloney
Robert Brady
Raúl M. Grijalva
John Conyers
Marcia L. Fudge
Bobby L. Rush
Albio Sires
Eliot Engel
Charles Rangel
Luis V. Gutierrez
William D. Delahunt
Sheila Jackson Lee
Corrine Brown
Laura Richardson
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Michael E. Capuano
Carol Shea-Porter
Rubén Hinojosa
Vic Snyder
Rick Larsen
Alcee L. Hastings
Kendrick B. Meek
Donna F. Edwards
Chaka Fattah
Melvin L. Watt
Lynn Woolsey
Joe Crowley
Gwendolynne Moore
Jim McDermott
José E. Serrano
Sanford Bishop
James Oberstar
Danny K. Davis
Donna Christensen
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Jan Schakowsky
Hank Johnson
James P. McGovern
Tammy Baldwin
Dale Kildee
Gregory Meeks
David Price
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick
Ed Pastor
Elijah E. Cummings
Bruce Braley
Peter DeFazio
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Wm. Lacy Clay
Jerrold Nadler
Michael Honda
Keith Ellison
Phil Hare
Judy Chu
Gary Ackerman
Bob Filner
Kathy Castor
Chris Van Hollen
Barney Frank
John W. Olver
Sam Farr
Eni Faleomavaega
Diane Watson
Andre Carson
Fortney Pete Stark
Steve Cohen
Nydia Velázquez
Lois Capps
Jesse Jackson, Jr.
G.K. Butterfield
Brad Miller
Mike Quigley
Diana DeGette
James P. Moran
Adam Smith
Paul Tonko
Michael H. Michaud
Chellie Pingree
Dennis Kucinich
Steve Israel
Robert C. “Bobby” Scott
Mary Jo Kilroy
Steny Hoyer
Earl Blumenauer
Zoe Lofgren
Rosa L. DeLauro

Co-sponsors of legislation:

Rep Bachus, Spencer [AL-6] – 2/4/2010
Rep Brown, Corrine [FL-3] – 2/2/2010
Rep Butterfield, G. K. [NC-1] – 2/2/2010
Rep Christensen, Donna M. [VI] – 2/2/2010
Rep Clarke, Yvette D. [NY-11] – 2/2/2010
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] – 2/2/2010
Rep Conyers, John, Jr. [MI-14] – 2/2/2010
Rep Delahunt, Bill [MA-10] – 2/2/2010
Rep Edwards, Donna F. [MD-4] – 2/2/2010
Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] – 2/2/2010
Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] – 2/2/2010
Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] – 2/2/2010
Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] – 2/2/2010
Rep Fudge, Marcia L. [OH-11] – 2/2/2010
Rep Green, Al [TX-9] – 2/2/2010
Rep Griffith, Parker [AL-5] – 2/4/2010
Rep Hastings, Alcee L. [FL-23] – 2/2/2010
Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] – 2/2/2010
Rep Jackson Lee, Sheila [TX-18] – 2/2/2010
Rep Kilroy, Mary Jo [OH-15] – 2/4/2010
Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] – 2/2/2010
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] – 2/2/2010
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] – 2/2/2010
Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] – 2/2/2010
Rep Meek, Kendrick B. [FL-17] – 2/2/2010
Rep Meeks, Gregory W. [NY-6] – 2/3/2010
Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4] – 2/2/2010
Rep Olver, John W. [MA-1] – 2/3/2010
Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10] – 2/2/2010
Rep Pingree, Chellie [ME-1] – 2/2/2010
Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] – 2/2/2010
Rep Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [FL-18] – 2/2/2010
Rep Serrano, Jose E. [NY-16] – 2/2/2010
Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] – 2/2/2010
Rep Wasserman Schultz, Debbie [FL-20] – 2/2/2010
Rep Watt, Melvin L. [NC-12] – 2/3/2010
Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] – 2/3/2010

TAGS: Earthquake in Haiti, Haiti